George w



(No Model.)

G. 'W. MILLS.

METAL BUTTON CLEANING SHIELD. N0. 366,6'76. Patented July 19, 1887.

N PETERSuPhnlo'LflMgnphlr, Washington, D4 0.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQE.

GEORGE IV. MILLS, OF ELIZABETH, NEIV JERSEY, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO FRANCIS R. FAST AND FLOYD I3.

BOTH OF NE\V YORK, N. Y.

WILSON,

METAL-BUTTON-CLEANING SHIELD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 366,676, dated July 19, 1887.

Application tiled August 31, 1885. Renewed September 14, 1886. Serial No. 213,510. (No model.)

- To all whom/it may concern..-

Be it known that I, GEORGE XV. MILLs, of Elizabeth, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented an Improvement in Metal-ButtonCleaning Shields,ot"which the following is a specification.

Brass and other metallic buttons are extentensivel y used upon the coats and clothing of military men, carriage-drivers, railroad em- IO ploys, and others, and these brass buttons require to be frequently cleaned, and the rouge, whiting, or other cleaning material is liable to soil the cloth. Besides this, it is dif fieult to hold the button whilcbeing polished.

The object of my invention is to hold the buttons in position while being cleaned and to shield the cloth, so that it does not become soiled. With this object in .view, I make use of a slotted and notched plate for the reception of the shanks of the buttons and ahinged locking-plate to close against the opposite sides of the shanks and hold the buttons in position while being cleaned, the plates intervening between the buttons and the garment to prevent the latter becoming soiled.

I11 the drawings, Figure l is a plan view of the shield as opened and ready for the reception of the buttons. Fig. 2 is a similar view with the shield closed, the positions ofthe buttons being indicated by dotted lines. Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the shield as closed around the shank of a button.

The shield is inadcof thetwo parts A and B, hinged together at C. These parts are p refera- 5 bly of sheet metal, and there are notches d in the edge of the plate 13, and notches c in the adjacent edge of the plate A, so that these two partsAand B can beswung toward each other and closed around the shanks of the buttons holding said shanks and buttons while being cleaned, and at the same time protecting the fabric of the garment from being soiled by the material employed in cleaning the buttons. The notches are to be sullieiently far apart for the reception of buttons of the largest sizes, and it will be apparent that the fabric of the garment will usually be puckered up or folded more or less, as the buttonshanks are introduced into the notches. ,0

In order to hold the two plates A and B in the proper relative positions at the distant end from the pivot O, I make alip or flange, I, upon the plate A, so that the end of the plate B may pass in beneath the same.

It is usually preferable to form a slot in the plate A for the passage of the button-shanks, the same being represented as formed between the plate A and the bar or portion A of said plate, and in order to introduce the button itself an opening, 0, is made through the plate A at the end of the slot. This opening O is covered by the end portion of the plate 3 when the two parts of the shield are closed for grasping the button-shanks.

I claim as .my invention- 1. The 1netal-button-clcaning shield, composed of the plates A and 13, notched in the edges and hinged together, there being a lip or flange upon the plate A for the reception 0 of the end of the plate I3, substantially as set forth 2. In a metalbntton-cleaning shield, the con1bination,with the plate B, notched upon one edgc,ot' the plate A,slotted longitudinally, and having notches at c, and an opening, 0, at the end of the slot, substantially as specified.

Signed by me this 28th (lay of August, 1885.

GEORGE V. MILLS.

\V i tn esscs:

GEO. T. PINOKNEY, \VILLLtM G. More 

